Cape Town

British tourists have voted Cape Town the best city in the world for the fifth consecutive year.

After a poll of 90,000 readers in the 2017 Telegraph Travel Awards, the South African city of Cape Town was victorious, beating Vancouver and Tokyo to the top prize. Remarkably, it’s the fifth consecutive year that Cape Town has been named number one – and with all eyes on South Africa in 2018, the centenary year of Nelson Mandela’s birth, few would bet against it repeating the trick in 12 months time.

Enver Duminy for Cape Town Tourism says the recognition will aid in creating more job opportunities for locals.

“These accolades pave the way for even more innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation within the tourism sector.”

“They also accurately reflect the variety of experiences Cape Town has to offer visitors, from unparalleled natural beauty, to delicious, intimate culinary adventures in our many restaurants.”

Sporty, stylish, stunning, sociable… if Cape Town was a person, it would be that Hollywood starlet we all secretly envy. A coming-together of cultures, cuisines and landscapes, there’s nowhere quite like Cape Town, a singularly beautiful city crowned by the magnificent Table Mountain National Park.

So, whether you’re after natural scenery, or interested in indulging in the diverse food scene Cape Town offers, you won’t be let down.

Apart from the weak rand, which is making travel to South Africa very appealing to foreigners, Cape Town is only very accessible in terms of accommodation.

Cape Town currently has the 21st biggest Airbnb market in the world, and guests can stay in high profile Cape Town suburbs for a fraction of typical area prices – whilst also immersing themselves within local culture.

A high percentage of locals are also using Airbnb for staycations within SA’s borders.

For hotel stays, SA hotel prices low in comparison to other African hubs. The average rate for a hotel room in Addis Ababa is about R3 212 per night, which is more than double what guests would pay in Cape Town – an average of R1 448 per night, according to a 2015 survey.

The rest of the upper end of the ranking has a familiar look. Vancouver has played second fiddle to Cape Town for the last five editions of the awards, while Venice, Sydney and New York are perennial members of the top 10.

Motorists whose vehicle licence discs will expire on 31 October 2015 and are renewable by 21 November 2015 will not be receiving renewal notices. The City of Cape Town asks motorists to act proactively to ensure that the necessary arrangements are made and to renew discs online.

The National Department of Transport’s (DOT) transfer of the Electronic National Traffic Information System (eNaTIS) to the Road Traffic Management Centre has also affected motorists whose licence discs expired at the end of September 2015 and are renewable by Wednesday 21 October 2015. This transfer has been the reason that motorists have not received notices to renew their annual motor vehicle licences.

Motorists are requested to check their current licence disc for the expiry date and if it is due to either:

Under the Motor Vehicle Licensing tab, click on ‘register’ (for new applicants) or ‘login’ (for those already registered for e-Services)

You will be prompted to complete an online registration form and will be required to upload the necessary documents

The application process takes three working days for new applicants and two working days for applicants who are already registered

Phone the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089 to find out the amount owing should you not know the licence amount due

Or

Renew your licence at your nearest vehicle licensing office:

Take your identity document, complete a green Application for Licencing of Motor Vehicle form (ALV form), and renew your licence at the counter.

As a rule, motorists receive a 21-day grace period in which to renew their licence discs from the end of their renewal period.

‘The City apologises for any inconvenience and is doing everything in its power to ease the discomfort of motorists. We ask that the DOT and the Road Traffic Management Centre resolve the transfer of the eNaTIS as soon as possible and that this problem is sorted out before November, which is traditionally the busiest month of the year for motor vehicle disc renewals,’ said the City’s acting Mayoral Committee Member for Finance, Alderman Belinda Walker

The Fish Hoek blog and Chas Everitt bring you the key information for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, including dates and kick-off times for every fixture in England!The 2015 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament will be hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October 2015. Twickenham Stadium in London will host the final.

Tuesday, 11 August 2015, will mark the first day of the City of Cape Town’s long awaited application to the Western Cape High Court for reviewing and setting aside SANRAL’s proposed tolling of portions of the N1 and N2 freeways.

Our application could be regarded as the trial of the century as the outcome will have far-reaching consequences for the future of our city and the generations who live here for decades to come.

The application has been set down for argument over a number of days and is the culmination of a commitment by this government to do whatever it takes to prevent SANRAL from imposing an unjust, unwarranted and devastating tolling decision on our city. It took four years of hard work and court preparation by our staff, our legal team and a team of experts.

Since we took the decision to declare an intergovernmental dispute with SANRAL and the National Ministers of Transport and Environmental Affairs, we have witnessed and experienced unprecedented efforts by SANRAL to conceal the truth from a democratically elected government and the people we were elected to serve.

SANRAL’s actions were inconsistent with our Constitution and the principles of transparency and collaboration.

It required extraordinary efforts on our part, including an application to the Supreme Court of Appeal, to get to the truth of this proposed tolling project, and to be able to share that truth with the residents of Cape Town.

SANRAL was determined to withhold facts, such as the real costs of the tolling of the N1 and N2 freeways; the proposed toll fees to be paid by motorists; and the terms of the proposed agreement with the preferred bidder, Protea Parkways Consortium (PPC). The application for secrecy that SANRAL and PPC brought to the court would have had far reaching implications for our rights to access to information and media freedom if we had left it unchallenged.

Our fight for access to this information was motivated by the need to fully comprehend the likely impact of tolling the N1 and N2 on our city and our residents so that we could properly challenge the decisions that were made. It was also motivated by our commitment to protect the values of our democracy. We gained access to this information only after we brought another successful application in the High Court to compel SANRAL to provide it to us.

Today we will begin to present our case for a court order that essentially scraps the tolling of the N1 and N2. Our case against SANRAL is complex and contained in court papers that run into thousands of pages of reports and documents.

In the simplest terms we will argue that:
· The decision of the then National Minister for the Environment to provide an environmental authorisation for the tolling without considering the socio-economic impact of tolling, as he was required to do, was unlawful

· The decision of the then Minister of Transport to declare the highways as toll roads was also unlawful since he failed to consider the merits and impact of tolling

· The SANRAL Board never made the decision to declare the N1 and N2 as toll roads as it was required to do. By implication, we will argue that the decision to toll was made by the CEO of SANRAL who was unauthorised to do so

· The decision and the implementation of tolling will have a damaging impact on our city and regional economy and those impacts have not been properly considered

· The tolling of the N1 and N2 will cause disproportionate financial harm and hardship to the poorest of our residents

· In 2013 SANRAL was about to enter into a contract with PPC which would have been reckless and irrational. The City obtained an interim order preventing that agreement being signed

· One example is the proposed agreement requires SANRAL to reimburse PPC for any loss of revenue caused by the National Minister setting toll tariffs at rates lower than PPC’s tendered rate. PPC’s tender is 84 c/km including VAT. National Government recently capped the e-toll tariffs in Gauteng at 30 c/km including VAT. If motorists in the Western Cape and Gauteng were to be charged the same, then SANRAL would have to pay PPC a conservatively estimated R29 billion – in addition to the tolls which motorists would have to pay to PPC. SANRAL’s contingent liability is more than what it would cost SANRAL to construct the upgrades proposed by PPC and to continue maintaining and operating the N1 and N2 freeways as it currently does. SANRAL and the National Government never considered this massive risk and were unaware of it until the City discovered it when analysing the documents which SANRAL tried to keep secret

· The costs of the proposed tolls on the N1 and N2 significantly outweigh the benefits to toll-paying motorists
We have prepared a compelling case against the proposed tolling of the N1 and N2 and we will do our utmost to prevail.

I cannot predict the outcome of the arguments that will ensue in the days ahead, but I remain reasonably confident and optimistic. The fight to prevent urban tolling will not end with this hearing, nor with this case.

It will take all of us who are opposed to the inequity of this scheme to stand together, to voice our objections, and to fight to prevent it. I am of the firm view that the proposed Winelands Toll Scheme is as irrational, reckless and dangerous to our future as the Gauteng e-tolls scheme was and is.

The people of Gauteng took a firm stand against the scheme that was imposed on them. I am calling on the people of Cape Town to do the same.

Issued by: Integrated Strategic Communication, Branding and Marketing Department, City of Cape Town

Today is Workers’ Day in South Africa – a public holiday that has its origins internationally, within the historical struggles of workers and their trade unions.

The day celebrates the rights of workers, and recognises their struggle for fair working conditions and employment standards. It has been a holiday since 1994, and has ties to the International Workers’ Day celebrations enjoyed in many other countries.

Cape Town, renowned as a sun-worshiping hotspot, has become a hotbed of conflict between beachgoers who want a dog-friendly beach environment and those who complain about the negative impact of dogs on the city’s beaches.

The new schedules below are designed around the days of the month and reflect Eskom’s decision to implement loadshedding nationally on a regular basis and over weekends. They replace the previous schedules, which were designed around days of the week and were applicable for occasional loadshedding during peak demand times.

Loadshedding stages depend on the extent of the shortage of generation capacity to meet the country’s electricity demand, with stage 1 being the least serious, and stage 3b being the most serious.

Loadshedding outages generally last for about 2,5 hours, with one area being affected at a time during stage 1 and four areas being affected at a time during stage 3b.

The public is urged to be aware of a bogus rental scheme that is taking place around the country.

This seems to work so well it has been gaining popularity! Individuals pretend to be estate agents and target unsuspecting potential renters. They post details of rental properties online and then ask interested parties to secure the flat by paying a deposit, either in cash or via electronic funds transfer.

A Sea Point man was arrested in August on fraud charges after allegedly conning nine people after an advert on Gumtree.

The suspect reportedly advertised a flat for rent and then asked interested parties to secure the flat by paying a deposit and the first months rent, which in itself is normal terms and conditions. However, when it came time to move in, victims find the flat is occupied and the suspect has made off with the deposit.

These bogus agents inform potential renters that a number of people are interested in the property and are urged to view and pay the deposit and / or first months rent and they would get the property. With a tremendous scarcity it seems there are plenty of desperate tenants who fall for this.

Should tenants have an interest in a property it is recommend that you phone the local office of the estate agency to establish that the agent is a registered agent with that company. But of course it is easy to use the name of a real agent so do not just use the number you are given but look it up yourself.

Never transfer money without seeing a contract first or without verifying that you are dealing with the owner or the owner’s representative. Do not pay a deposit without solid confirmation that the organisation is following legal procedures. Easier said than done if you are desperate to secure the apartment.